New Zealand rugby players accused of raping South African woman

Members of New Zealand’s under 20s rugby union squad – nicknamed the Baby Blacks – have been accused of raping a local woman in South Africa.

The alleged attack on the 22-year-old took place on Friday at the team hotel, the Southern Sun Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town, which is close to the rugby ground.

According to police, the woman was unable to identify any of the men because she could not remember the attack, but blood was reportedly found on bedsheets in one of the players’ rooms.

A report in the New Age newspaper alleged that there were as many as four attackers. Police have strongly contested this claim, but conceded that they are investigating the possibility of “at least one”.

Police were alerted to the latest incident the following morning and are conducting forensic tests on the victim and the scene.

“I can confirm that a woman claimed that she was raped at the hotel,” Col Vish Naidoo, a police spokesman, said. “The victim could not tell detectives who raped her because she had no recollection of the incident.